Truly Living
by xMemoirx
Summary: Three friends visit Shibuya for summer break, and are pulled into the Reaper's Game. The problem? Feeling more alive when you're dead is an addictive feeling. Ch.1: Close to Perfection


So, my second TWEWY fic. I considered tying it into _Twister, _but then I thought it might be better to give Ren a rest. I'm writing from my own point of view for the most part. Yes folks, it's a self-insert. -Prepares to be shot at- I've been daydreaming about this for a while now, which isn't going to do my grades any favors. So, a quick and obvious disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends With You. Square Enix, in all their glory, does.

Oh, I don't own iPods or Bleach either. Read, enjoy, and review please.

* * *

1: Close to Perfection

"Thank god that's over. I can't stand airplanes." I stretched my arms out and yawned, earning a small laugh from my boyfriend.

"Right, you just glued your eyes to the window during takeoff because you were bored."

"Okay, let me rephrase: I hated that drunk guy in front of us who couldn't shut the hell up. Nobody on the cabin cared about the fact that he almost missed his flight." Andy smirk-smiled before checking his phone. I heard him mutter something about 'all those delays…' and sigh.

"Well let's get going. If we don't catch that bus to Shibuya in time, Brittany will kill me."

"I wouldn't let her." It seemed like nothing had changed since seventh grade. (Keep in mind we were going to be sophomores in a few months.) Brit had gone to a different high school than Andy and me, but we'd stayed friends. Hanging out on the weekends watching anime, reading manga, and of course, cramming the haranga into our heads. Our parents had permitted us a trip this summer, anywhere we wanted. And the obvious destination had been Tokyo, Japan. More specifically Shibuya, the huge shopping district. Since I'd played The World Ends With You, I'd really wanted to see 104, Towa Records, Molco, everything in person. And Brittany had screamed with joy when I suggested that my parents might be allowing me to leave the country, and decided that we should get on the plane before they changed their minds. But, seeing as we'd bought the tickets at the last minute, she'd gotten here earlier on a different flight…and probably didn't want to be kept waiting. I looked up at Andy; apparently we had both been spacing out.

"Pretty weird, actually being here." I nodded and headed for the door.

"Let's head to the bus terminal."

* * *

Brittany sat cross-legged on a bench outside the west exit bus terminal. How much longer were they going to keep her waiting? This was getting ridiculous! There was that two-hour delay, but still. She was about to whip out her phone and text Meghan when the bus pulled up. She jumped up, waving frantically. Her friends jumped out of the bus and dashed over to her, Meghan hugging her friend tightly and jumping around in circles.

Andy managed a 'Hey Brittany' over the screams of 'I missed you _so_ much! How's it been?' 'Great! The Seventh Circle of Hell isn't as bad as you think!' and 'I can't believe your parents let you come! They're usually so clingy!' The girls separated and flounced onto the bench, red in the face from laughing. Brit leaned over and gave Andy a quick sideways hug, earning a confused stare from her friend.

"What…was that about?"

"…Brittany?" Andy said in a whisper, like he was trying to keep his patience.

"Yeeesss?" Came the drawling reply.

"What did you stick on my back?" He reached back and pulled a 'kick me' sticky note off his jacket. Meghan jumped up and grabbed their wrists, pulling them towards the statue of Hachiko before any fights could start. _Just like old times._

* * *

I collapsed on the hotel bed, dropping the bags from 104 on the floor.

"Brittany, since when do you shop so much?"

"Since my Mom can't tell me what to wear. Hooray for being on a different continent." She snatched three of the larger bags and started digging through the piles of Tigre Punk clothes.

"For the millionth time, you should just wear what you want. What would she do, kick you out of the house?" She stopped moving and fixed me with a blank stare. "Right." There were a few minutes of silence, before we both broke into laughter. I fished a box of chocolate pocky out of a bag and tossed it towards Brit. She cut her eyes at me angrily.

"Now I owe you. Take the strawberry kind." I caught the pink box and grinned.

"Thank yoouuu. Shouldn't we eat dinner first though? I mean, it would be _such_ a waste to leave a late-night ramen shop empty, right?"

"Okay, fine, go tell your _boyfriend_ we're leaving in ten." I ran into the hallway and thumped on Andy's door.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, 'boyfriend', we're leaving for ramen in ten minutes, Brittany wanted me to tell you." He opened the door.

"In that context I'm guessing?" I nodded distractedly.

"Did you know that you looked like Kariya for a second?"

"What, the Reaper guy with orange hair? How?"

"I don't know…anyway, Kariya's cool, be happy."

"Okay, let's go get dinner before you get any more delusional." I grinned and jogged back to my room.

"Okay, so you ready to go yet?" Brittany had changed quickly. Her jeans had been replaced by black pants that gathered at her knees. There were green pockets on the sides, and a short chain clipped to two belt loops. Her white shirt with her school's logo was sticking out from under the bed, exchanged for a short-sleeved black shirt. Green arm warmers clung to her arms. Her dirty-blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun, with a black pen sticking out of it.

"Like the new look!"

"You think my mom would hate it?" I nodded, feeling a grin creep onto my face.

"Then it's cool! Go change so we can get going!" Brit tossed a stack of clothes to me and pushed me into the bathroom.

My new outfit consisted of about the same thing. Black cargos, these going all the way down to my ankles. There was a silver-studded belt with it, which I let hang loosely around my hips. A black shirt with lacey straps, long dark arm warmers to match it. I tied my boots and ran into out of the room.

"Okay, can we go now? Or do I have to get a new skin?"

"Just turn around. I wanna see how you look." I held my arms up and spun around quickly.

"Presentable?" I felt like hiding under the bed when I noticed the demonic grin creeping across my friend's face.

"Andy's gonna flip." As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. I heard my boyfriend's slightly muffled voice on the other side.

"Brittany, if you'll kindly free Meghan, then maybe we can get dinner before the Second Coming." She sharply pulled the door open.

"We're ready when you are!" Brit dashed into the hallway and down the stairs. Apparently she was hungrier than she let on.

"I like the new clothes…they flatter you." I smiled very slightly, almost to myself, before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Thanks. Let's go, before midnight preferably." I jogged down the stairwell, skipping a couple steps. At the landing, I sat on the handrail and slid down to the ground, landing next to my friend. Brittany surveyed her nails for a minute before looking up.

"Took ya long enough. Where's your boyfriend?" There was a rush of air from overhead, and Andy landed on the bottom step of the stairs.

"Nice, right?" I heard Brit mutter something about 'her showoff friends' before pushing the lobby door open.

* * *

"I will forever love Ramen Don." Brittany sighed happily, stick of chocolate pocky held between her teeth.

"I was surprised the Dessert Ramen tasted so good. I saw it in the game and thought that fruit would taste weird with noodles, but it was awesome!" I dropped the last remaining orange wedge into my mouth and smiled. As if things couldn't get any better, the food was almost identical to the way it looked in the game. It was like a dream come true, like I was actually _in_ the Reaper's Game. "Hey, I just remembered-" I tugged my iPod out of my pocket and changed the song "- I have this."

"What are you listening to? Utada again?" Andy cocked his head to the side, straining to hear the song.

"The second _Bleach_ closing. It's too catchy for its own good. And I don't listen to Utada all the time, even she is my favorite singer in the world." He snagged the other ear bud and kept walking.

"If we happened to be in the game, that thing would be your entry fee, no questions asked." He gestured to the iPod in my pocket.

"Very funny." The conversation cut off when the sky started to darken, white stars glittering faintly against the violet clouds.

"I won't say 'make a wish' or anything cliché like that, but…" Brit trailed off and shut her eyes, going into deep thought. Andy followed her example, shoving his hands into his pockets. _Close to perfect…_ I shut my eyes, almost swearing that I'd seen another glint in the corner of my eye, besides the stars. _I wish…_

"Say goodnight, everyone!" There was a high-pitched scream followed by three loud blasts that penetrated the air. I'm not sure what happened next, the sudden lack of air, or the crippling pain in my chest. Flashes of heat seemed to shoot out from every nerve in my body, and red covered my vision. There were two more shouts mirroring my own, and the world went black.

* * *

Aight! Hope you guys liked the first chapter; with my daydreaming issues I'll be updating this frequently. Cookies and hugs to anybody who read this far.

xMemoirex


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